Patton Movie Review & Film Summary (1970) | Roger Ebert I love it, God help me, I do love it. I love it more than my life. Advertisement So speaks Gen. George S. Patton Jr. about war, in "Patton." In his words we hear a premonition of the most memorable of all war movie speeches, Col. Kilgore's "I love the smell of napalm in the morning," from " Apocalypse Now ." It is surely no coincidence that both screenplays were co-written by Francis Ford Coppola . The Kilgore character seems like a screwball spin-off of Patton, a man who observes to his staff at the end of the war: "All good things must come to an end." In his own eyes, Patton was larger than life and stood outside time. Standing on a North African battlefield where Carthage was attacked by Rome, he says "I was here," and he means it. He believes in reincarnation and destiny, and when he is benched on the eve of the invasion of Europe, he rants, "The last great opportunity of a lifetime and I'm left out of it?

God will not allow it to happen." That swagger was his strength and weakness. He could inspire men to heroic feats, he was a brilliant strategist, but he was a genius at getting himself into trouble. In a war where millions died horribly, he slapped a shell-shocked soldier and his career was derailed. Franklin J. Schaffner's "Patton" (1970), released at the height of the unpopular war in Vietnam, was described by many reviewers at the time as "really" an anti-war film. It was nothing of the kind. It was a hard-line glorification of the military ethic, personified by a man whose flaws and eccentricities marginalized him in peacetime, but found the ideal theater in battle. In this he was not unlike Churchill; both men used flamboyance, eccentricity and a gift for self-publicity as a way of inspiring their followers and perplexing the enemy. That Patton was in some ways mad is not in doubt--at least to the makers of this film--but his accomplishments overshadowed, even humiliated, his cautious and sane British rival, Montgomery. Advertisement The film is nearly three hours long and George C.

Scott is onscreen for most of that time, when we are not seeing battle scenes or Nazi planners (always speculating about Patton). It is one of those sublime performances in which the personalities of the actor and the character are fulfilled in one another. Although the role was offered to other actors who were bigger stars (critic Tim Dirks lists Burt Lancaster , Rod Steiger , Lee Marvin , Robert Mitchum and John Wayne ), it is unimaginable without Scott. His comic-opera Gen. Buck Turgidson in " Dr. Strangelove " (1963) informs more than a little of Patton's nuttiness and his hatred of the Russians. Scott (1927-1999) was big, powerful, lonely, brilliant, a drinker, a perfectionist who stood so far outside Hollywood circles it was a foregone conclusion he would not turn up at the Academy Awards. In his career he sought out challenges like the plays of Shakespeare, O'Neill and Miller, in the same way Patton hungered for battle. Like Patton, he was a man without a purpose when he was offstage.

Consider the scene where Patton is dressed by his aide, who adjusts his helmet reverently on his head as if placing a crown. Patton regards himself in the mirror and muses to himself, "All my life I've wanted to lead a lot of men in a desperate battle." He could be an actor preparing to walk onto a stage. "General, the men don't always know when you're acting or not," a subordinate tells him after one flamboyant speech. "They don't need to know," Patton says. "Only I need to know." Headlines and newsreels personified armies by referring to their generals: Rommel was defeated in Africa, Patton swept north through France. Patton saw it the same way, and when he promises he will liberate Massine before Montgomery gets there, he is thinking in the first person. Gen. Omar Bradley ( Karl Malden ), who has the film's only other significant leading role, quails at the risk of lives and equipment that Patton is willing to contemplate, because he does not quite see that for Patton his men and equipment are the limbs of his ego. Vanity and courage found their intersection in Patton.

"If you were named admiral of the Turkish navy," Bradley tells him, "I believe your aides could dip into their haversacks and come up with the appropriate decoration." Advertisement "Patton" is not a war film so much as the story of a personality who has found the right role to play. Scott's theatricality is electrifying. As Patton he always stands up in his Jeep, loves making speeches, grandstands, plunges into the action to personally goad his men, even directs traffic. There is a touch of the manic about him. He seems to have no personal life. The film makes no mention of family, children, even close friends; his heart-to-heart talks are with himself. He seems formidably well-read, lecturing his subordinates on the history of the battlefields, the lessons of Napoleon, the experiences of earlier leaders who came this way. He has a classical quotation for every occasion. "You son of a bitch," he gloats after outsmarting Rommel, "I read your book!" Scott's performance is not one-level but portrays a many-layered man who desires to appear one-level. Instead of adding tiresome behavioral touches, he allows us small glimpses of what may be going on inside.

Having made a fetish of bravery, he obtains a dog that is terrified most of the time, and affectionately drags the cowardly beast wherever he goes. Told by the press that the American public is fascinated by his "pearl-handled revolver," he stone-faces: "Ivory. Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled revolver." That shows he's given it some thought. Early in the film, under surprise air attack by the Nazis, he stands in the middle of a street firing at them with the revolver. Crazy, yes, but it adds to the legend. The most famous scene is the first one, Patton mounting a stage to address his troops from in front of an American flag that fills the huge 70-mm screen. His speech is unapologetically bloodthirsty ("we will cut out their living guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks"). His uniform and decorations, ribbons and medals, jodhpurs and riding boots and swagger stick fall just a hair short of what Groucho Marx might have worn. Scott's great nose could be the beak of an American Eagle.

The closing shot is the other side of the coin, a graying and lonely old man, walking his dog. Even then, we suspect, Patton is acting. But does he know it? Advertisement Franklin Schaffner (1920-1989) was a master of bold, uncluttered canvases. After a start directing live television in the 1950s, he made dramas (including "The Best Man," one of the best Hollywood films about politics) before finding his natural footing with epics such as "The War Lord" (1965), " Planet of the Apes " (1968) and, after "Patton," " Nicholas and Alexandra " (1971) and " Papillon " (1973).

His "Patton" is one of the most uncluttered of war movies, devoid of side plots, colorful supporting characters and "human interest." There are no individual soldiers whose adventures we follow, and the battle scenes are seen in long shot, not personalized; they have the sweep of Victorian canvases instead of the hand-to-hand intimacy of " Platoon ," " Saving Private Ryan " or " We Were Soldiers ." Even the Bradley character has no purpose other than to admonish, support and puzzle over Patton--to stand there and look at him. The movie sees the war as Patton saw it, as Patton's story. Well, it's one way of looking at it. * * * Footnote: I see the war most vividly through the eyes of an old friend, the director Russ Meyer , who enlisted at 17 and believed, with Patton, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Over the years he has talked about it endlessly, and I have a glimpse of Patton from Meyer.

In the closing days of the war, when Meyer was a Signal Corps cameraman near the German lines in France, he was routed from his bed in the middle of a night and ordered to join an unauthorized raid behind enemy lines to be led by Patton. The general had become convinced Hitler was making a secret visit to the front, and planned to capture him personally. "We drove off into the night," Meyer recalls. "Hitler wasn't there. We returned, and were warned to keep quiet about it. That was Patton for you." Advertisement Patton (1970) | The Film Spectrum Director: Franklin J. Schaffner Producer: Frank McCarthy (20th Century Fox) Writers: Ladislas Farago (novel), Omar N. Bradley (novel), Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North (screenplay) Photography: Fred J. Koenekamp Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cast: George C.

Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong, Carey Loftin, Albert Dumortier, Morgan Paull, Karl Michael Vogler, Michael Bates, Bill Hickman, Pat Zurica, James Edwards, Lawrence Dobkin, David Bauer, Ed Binns, Paul Stevens, Gerald Flood, Siegfried Rauch, Richard Munch, John Barrie “Where you going, General?” “Berlin! I’m gonna personally shoot that paper-hangin’ son of a bitch!” Many biopics are good (i.e. Ray; Walk the Line), but few become great (i.e. Lawrence of Arabia; Schindler’s List). The real-life human story is almost always spectacular — why else would Hollywood turn it into a movie? — but something usually lacks, either in a script that can’t keep up with the true story, or in a performance that can’t keep up with the real-life popular figure. In Patton, it’s safe to say that all these things are spot on, the screenplay masterfully co-written by Francis Ford Coppolla and the lead part played by a never-better George C.

Scott, who in his career performance actually becomes four-star General George Patton, the “only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis” during WWII. Producer Frank McCarthy, former Secretary of the War Department General Staff, actually knew Patton during the war, after which it took him 19 years to get the film made. He had first tried in 1951, six years after Patton’s freak car accident death in Germany, but Patton’s widow nixed the idea, carrying a grudge against the media, whom she felt was the cause of many of Patton’s career problems. Indeed, throughout the movie, newspapers are depicted as printing many controversial things Patton said “off the record.” (A) After she died, the children also blocked the project, pushing it all the way until 1970 before the picture could be made. In the end, McCarthy’s production battle brought him complete vindication, earning seven Oscars, including one for himself — Best Picture. The film opens in Tunisia where U.S. forces have just been decimated by legendary Nazi general Erwin Rommel’s feared Afrika Korps. As a response, Gen.

Patton (Scott) is brought in to lead the Seventh Army, his brashness deemed necessary to discipline the troops and boost morale. Before long, Patton has made it his personal mission to both match wits with Rommel (Karl Michael Vogler) and rival Allied commander British General Montgomery (Michael Bates) to Sicily, succeeding in both. But when his own furvor leads him to famously slap one his own soldiers, calling him a coward, Patton is reprimanded by Gen. Eisenhower, replaced by old friend Gen. Omar Bradley (Karl Malden) and sent on probation to serve as a decoy in Cairo. Convinced Patton is about to wage a major offensive, the Germany Army diverts its attention to him in Egypt, leaving the backdoor open for D-Day on the beaches of France. As the war wages on, Patton is reassigned to battle, leading the Third Army across France to play a pivotal role in the snowy Battle of the Bulge. When the war is over, he is named military commander of post-war Germany, but his boldness once again gets him in trouble, as reporters quote him comparing Republicans and Democrats to the Nazi party, in as much as being blind party followers.

Such highs and lows, pride and shame, success and failure, all seem to define Patton as a historical figure. They also make for one of cinema’s most fascinating character studies, bringing to the screen a complex character who admits he’s a primaddona but knows he’s the best damn general the Allied forces have got. He’s a man who has the audacity to desire a one-on-one duel with Rommel, the outcome determining the fate of the war, and chutzpah made him #29 on AFI’s Greatest Heroes. “Give George a headline and he’s good for another 30 miles,” Bradley says, summing up a man who craves the glory of battle so much to a fault, a fault he himself realizes. Looking out over a field of dead soldiers, Patton says, “I love it. God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life.” In fact, as a firm believer in reincarnation, his life is but a small piece of an ongoing history of which he is part.

And he believes it his recurring place in history to be part of mankind’s biggest battles, having flashbacks of the Battle of Carthage and premonition of the Battle of Bulge as a reflection of his “own” experience in the wintery defeat of Napoleon. He’s described as “a 16th century man living in the 20th century … a romantic warrior caught in contemporary times.” He’s at once a warrior and a poet, a hero and a monster, and a man who when asked if he reads the Bible replies, “Every Goddamn day.” Patton does not blindly hold its human subject up on a pedastal, but rather, like Lawrence of Arabia, presents the war hero for all his strengths and all his flaws. This duality may help to explain why both ends of the political spectrum interpret Patton in completely opposite ways, each side claiming the film for its own. Military hawks embrace the film for Patton’s take-no-crap hardness, his belief that it’s “the evident destiny of the British and Americans to rule the world” and the countless scenes of military strategists, both German and American, pointing to huge wall maps and plotting detailed offensives.

Equally so, anti-war crowds embrace the film for its recognition that even the great military minds border on moral crisis — as two troops converse: “There goes Old Blood and Guts.” “Yeah, our blood, his guts.” — a theme backed by intermittent depictions of the horrors of war, like Patton standing by a row of graves and saying, “Our graves aren’t gonna disappear like everyone else who fought here. The Greeks. The Romans. Carthaginians. God how I hate the 20th century.” What an achievement to make a film so complex that it can be embraced by both sides! Remember, Patton was released in 1970, right at the height of the Vietnam War. So when the famed general stands before his troops on stage and announces, “Americans have never and will never lose a war,” it’s seen by left as a stinging irony, and by the right as a rally for the good old days. One thing that both sides can agree upon is the performance by George C. Scott. Their verdict: flawless. An amazing feat considering the character he plays is so flawed.

Aside from his uncanny physical resemblence, Scott seems to embody Patton’s entire being, earning a spot on Premiere’s 100 Greatest Performances by playing the part with a Henry Hathaway-type boldness (B) and mimicking Patton’s walk from 3,000 feet of film, including documentaries, newsreels and footage from the U.S. Signal Corps (A). Scott also claimed to have read about a dozen books in preparation for the role, and during the shoot, he further got into character by wearing authentic reproductions of Patton’s uniforms, decorations and accessories — most famously that riding crop and those ivory-handled six guns. “I have enormous affection for Gen. Patton, a feeling of amazement and respect for him,” Scott said. “I hope the film comes out not as an apology but as a fair, respectful portrait” (A). By Oscar season, everyone was touting Scott as the hands-down favorite, while he warned that if he won he would not accept the award, hating the idea of actors being in competition with one another. When his name was called as the winner of Best Actor anyway, the crowd roared in approval and McCarthy accepted the award on his behalf.

Also absent from the ceremony was Coppola, who along with co-screenwriter Edmund H. North, took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Based on Bradley’s book A Soldier’s Story and Ladislas Farago’s book Patton: Ordeal and Triumph, the screenplay for Patton remains one of the best ever written, voted #94 all-time by the Writers Guilds. The script is so clever, case in point being the ironic near-death of Patton at the end of film: “After all I’ve been through, imagine getting killed by an ox-car.” Futhermore, it seems fully intent on opening up Patton’s perceived connection to the history of the world, giving him several great monologues on the subject: “In my dream it came to me that right now the whole Nazi Reich is mine for the taking. Think about that, I was recently sent home in disgrace. Now I have precisely the right instrument at precisely the right moment of history in exactly the right place.” Such beautiful writing is largely the result of Coppola, as North was brought in later to help flesh out the dramatic aspects of the script, and boy does Coppola hit a home run.

Just two years before the endlessly-quotable The Godfather (1972), Coppola fills Patton’s mouth rousing articulations, particularly in the opening monologue: “You must remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!” The scene, one of the most famous in movie history, is aided greatly by director Franklin J. Schaffner’s decision to shoot it against a giant American flag backdrop. Schaffner, who is certainly not remembered as a great director over his career, came through with a masterpiece in this, his follow-up to Planet of the Apes (1968).

Sprinkled throughout the film are reminders of why he won the Oscar for Best Director — the red and white stripes behind Patton’s body representing the duality of his character; the beauty of military vehicles moving in silouhette against the sky, or appearing upsidedown in a reflection of water under a bridge; the subjective shots of Patton’s binocular view; an extreme close-up of an officer blowing steam into the camera lens, which stands in for a mirror; the constant use of Patton in mirrors to further hint at his duality; the use of a ceiling mirror to create an “upsidedown shot” at the exact time Patton’s world has been turned upsidedown when told he’ll be nothing more than a decoy; and a shot of Patton small in the distance of a hallway, staring out a window and screaming at his own frustration of being small in the war: “An entire world at war and I’m left out of it?!?” Of course, the film, like its lead character, is not without its flaws, most of which are some derivative of time. Time has not been kind to the battle sequences, which look authentic enough, but can’t help but seem extra stagey compared to such modern efforts like Band of Brothers.

Second, is the film’s run-time of 170 minutes makes for a long, drawn-out character study, providing ample scope for Scott’s amazing performance, but which doesn’t help casual viewers in the accessibility department. And finally, time has knocked the film off the AFI list, where it once appeared at #89 in 1997. Why is it that epic war films like Patton and All Quiet on the Western Front (1940) fell from the list? Was it the result of a nation (and liberal Hollywood) tired of war? And if so, wouldn’t the anti-war elements of such films be all the more reason to honor them? Patton himself knew about time, its cycles and its reincarnations, so maybe the film will be back. Until then, enjoy it for what it is — the perfect Saturday afternoon TV movie, one you can pick up in the middle and always expect the pleasure of George C. Scott, completely in his element, parading to Jerry Goldsmith’s trumpeting score. But each time you watch, try not to take for granted the poignant political and ethical themes the film presents.

Nothing can be more timely than a scene where a reporter asks Patton, “You do agree, don’t you general, that our national policy should be made by civilians and not by the military?” “Of course I agree. But the politicians never finish. They always stop short and leave us with another war to fight.” Citations: Patton (Film) - TV Tropes Bradley: I do this job because I've been trained to. You do it because... you love it! Later on, Patton admits it. Patton: I love it! God help me, I do love it so. I love it more than my life. Born in the Wrong Century : Patton. "The pure warrior. A magnificent anachronism." To hear him tell it, he was born in a lot of them. Bunny-Ears Lawyer : Patton is a downplayed one. On the battlefield, he's a competent and aggressive (if somewhat reckless and callous) commander who gets results. Off the battlefield, he's a public relations nightmare who doesn't know what to do with himself. Byronic Hero : Patton. Flamboyant, intelligent, courageous, charismatic if controversial, and with Blood Knight tendencies.

Call Forward : Patton's death is not covered in the movie, but when he is saved in the nick of time from the oxcart and says "After all I've been through, imagine getting killed by an oxcart!", it's looking forward to it. Patton was in a jeep accident in Europe on December 8, 1945, paralyzing him from the neck down. He died two weeks later. Cassandra Truth : When Steiger tells General Jodl that newspapers were reporting that Patton may be court-martialed due to the infamous slapping incident, where he slaps a soldier suffering from shell shock, or post-traumatic stress disorder, the latter asks him if they really would discipline him simply because he slapped a soldier — the Germans both refused to recognise the existence of Shell Shock and frequently executed soldiers for 'cowardice' (including those caused by the non-existent condition that wasn't actually Shell Shock because Shell Shock didn't exist, but might well be if it did). Circling Vultures : They aren't circling, but they're there, on the ground amongst the bodies of dead American soldiers at Kasserine Pass. An angry soldier shoots a pair of them.

Cold Open : Patton's famous speech in front of the giant flag. Combat by Champion : Patton wished he could face Rommel to decide the outcome of World War II . In tanks. On the German side Erich von Manstein, Erich Hoepner, Hermann Hoth, and Heinz Guderian would have taken umbrage with Patton's choice of opponent. On the allied side MacArthur, Monty, Vatutin, and Koniev would not have been happy with Patton's nomination either. Consultant on Board : Omar Bradley (Patton's subordinate, then commander) was the primary consultant for the film. Bradley's awesomeness is talked up by nearly everyone in the film. Contrast Montage : As Patton reads the preacher's "weather prayer", we get scenes of night-time battles across snow-covered hills with only Patton's voice for sound. The silent explosions and falling soldiers are stark and shocking , but the prayer provides just cause for why American soldiers fought and died. Cutting the Knot : Shooting the mules blocking the bridge. Desolation Shot : The opening (after the famous "flag speech" that is) where a battlefield is shown full of corpses with human and animal scavengers poking around.

The Dreaded : Patton himself to the Germans. Digital Destruction : The overly smooth and grain-free Blu-Ray Disc released in 2008 helped open people's eyes to the negative side effects of digital noise reduction. 20th Century Fox released a Blu-Ray with a more detailed and film-like picture quality four years later. Establishing Character Moment : The famous Cold Open in which Patton gives a speech to his men, outlining his philosophy of war, is an iconic example. Evil Cannot Comprehend Good : When Capt. Steiger tells Wehrmacht Chief of Staff Alfred Jodl that Patton's preferred method of discipline is about to get him a court-martial and off the battlefield, Jodl replies that they would never "keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." Of course, Steiger ends up being right. Which you could just as easily call "Common Sense Cannot Comprehend Politics". Their own experience of killing or leaving to die millions of POWs and civilians (albeit against subhumans in the Eastern theatre) meant that the Germans couldn't comprehend that their enemies might actually punish one of their officers for the non-event of them slapping someone.

So when Patton was assigned to the humiliating job of decoy while the Allies planned their Normandy invasion, the Germans were convinced (until it was too late) that Patton was leading a (fictitious) army into Calais, and it kept the German reserves inactive until the Allies had established a solid foothold in France. From the point of view of Dwight Eisenhower (commander over the European theater of the war) it was a win-win situation: the Germans were fooled, and he managed to sideline a general he regarded as an Ax-Crazy loose cannon ... until he could be unleashed at the right moment. A Father to His Men : He can be gentle and understanding when the situation calls for it. Except when it comes to not grasping that "shell shock" is real. Felony Misdemeanor : Patton views being relegated to a reserve command in the upcoming Normandy Invasion over the private-slapping incident to be entirely unjustified. The Germans don't believe the western Allies would really put their best mobile force commander on the bench over something so minor, either... which allows the western Allies to exploit Patton's reputation to draw suspicion away from their actual plans by sending Patton all over the European Theater.

Field Promotion : When an attack in Sicily doesn't go as quickly as planned, Patton fires the officer he deems responsible, and promotes the second in command. Gilligan Cut : See Tempting Fate below. Glory Seeker : Patton. Monty as well. The Ham-to-Ham Combat between the two generals is what drives the real conflict of the movie. Subverted at the end, when a humbled Patton — after being relieved of command for the second (and final time) — remembers his Roman history: "A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning, that all glory ... is fleeting." Godwin's Law : A complex Unbuilt Trope example. While fielding questions from reporters near the end, Patton is asked to explain why he is letting local Nazis continue to run day-to-day affairs in towns his troops have occupied despite the official denazification policy. He nonchalantly and somewhat absentmindedly agrees with one reporter's suggestion that most Germans were Just Following Orders , and that mere membership in the Nazi party was hardly any different from membership in the Democrat or Republican parties.

This gets his superiors angry at him for supposedly equating the two American parties with the Nazi party. Godzilla Threshold : Somewhat jokingly played when Bradley says they'll need someone gutsy to lead a successful attack. Officer: Patton? Bradley: [affirmatively] Maybe. Officer: [smiling] God help us! Gratuitous French : Patton, on at least three occasions in the film. The first one (an untranslated conversation with his aide in North Africa) is long enough to count as a Bilingual Bonus for those who understand the language. Historical Beauty Update : Not in actual physical handsomeness, but the real Patton was a much less impressive orator than this movie would lead you to believe. He actually had a squeaky, somewhat high-pitched voice whereas Scott speaks with a deep gravelly voice. The real Patton still managed to steal the spotlight when speaking, but that was because he practiced his posture, poses, and expressions for hours, and purposefully cultivated his (deserved) badass image with his immaculate uniform, dual holstered pistols, etc, in large part to compensate for the fact that his voice was weak and uninspiring by itself.

The movie also greatly tones down Patton's legendary profanity. He famously described foul language as an art unto itself, and it actually helped him relate to the men he commanded. His famous response to the Army's official "no fraternization" policy in Europe was, "Bullshit! An army that can't fuck can't fight!" Also, Rommel receives one of these, which is odd since the other main generals in the movie were portrayed by actors with at least a passing resemblance. George C. Scott at least vaguely has some features in common with Patton. Montgomery's actor looks a lot like Monty and Karl Malden is a dead-ringer for Bradley. But Rommel, who while not unattractive was in his late 50s, mostly bald, and often ill or fatigued, is portrayed by a much younger man with a full head of hair who looks nothing at all like the actual Rommel in any other way either. Historical Villain Upgrade : Many people feel Montgomery receives this. Since the movie focuses on Patton , it would be hard to avoid making him a nominal antagonist, and the film does acknowledge Montgomery's military skill and contributions to the war.

Insult Friendly Fire : A German officer notes that Bradley has a modest demeanor, unusual for a General, which gets him a glare from the German General in the room. Ironic Juxtaposition : Patton's iconic opening speech about the glories of war is followed by a scene of American corpses at Kasserine Pass being looted by locals. Mononymous Biopic Title : One of the most recognizable ones. Mr. Exposition : The German officer Captain Steiger. Screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola said part of the reason he invented the character was to give out biographical information about Patton to the audience. Number Two : Patton, to Bradley, late in the film. Oh Crap! : The reaction of a sloppy Desk Jockey officer when he is giving his excuses about a getting a new Commanding Officer and realizes that CO, Gen. Patton, is here now and he is obviously disgusted by the state of the unit. One Steve Limit : Averted. Patton's aide is also named George. Only Sane Man : Omar Bradley, who spends the entire movie trying to rein in Patton, first as his deputy, then as his Commanding Officer.

Opposing Combat Philosophies : A general theme is the conflict between Patton's aggressive philosophy and the other generals' more conservative approach. Outscare the Enemy : Patton says that he'll make his men unafraid of the Germans, but "I hope to God they never stop being afraid of me." Political Cartoon : Patton is the victim of one. Patton: A swastika! On my boot! Rated M for Manly : Patton is the living embodiment of the "blood-and-guts" style of military leadership. Readings Are Off the Scale : During the advance through France, a confused group of allied officers is trying to figure out where they are on the map, until one of them figures out they've gone beyond the edge of the map, prompting cheers of triumph. Reality Is Unrealistic : Patton actually had a quite high-pitched voice, unlike George C. Scott's gravelly tones. Reassigned to Antarctica : Downplayed.

Patton's reassignment to a reserve command isn't nearly as bad as being reassigned Stateside (the fate of his significantly less competent predecessor ), and he still plays a major role in the aftermath of D-Day — but to Patton, Blood Knight Glory Seeker that he is, being posted anywhere other than the thick of battle is a snub. Reincarnation : Patton believes in this, unusually for someone who otherwise seems to skew more toward Christianity. He claims that he was present at past battles such as the Siege of Carthage. The Rival : GeneralField Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery . Subverted with Rommel, since Patton never actually gets the chance to face him in the field. Scenery Gorn : Lots of shots showing battles and their aftermath, but the one that sticks out the most is the scene immediately following Patton's famous Rousing Speech , showing the aftermath of the Battle of Kasserine Pass, with the corpses of American soldiers being strewn across the desert and left for vultures and looters to pick at. Scenery Porn : The movie is gorgeous to look at. Until everything gets blown up by tanks.

Shoot the Dog : On the one hand, shooting the villager's donkeys and dumping them and the guy's cart over the side of a bridge is a callous thing to do on the face of things. On the other hand, an army on the march is incredibly vulnerable to enemy attack, and every second wasted on waiting for the road to clear was an extra second for the enemy to regroup and counterattack. Soldier vs. Warrior : Discussed by by Generals Bradley (soldier) and Patton (warrior). Bradley: I do it because that's what I'm trained to do. You do it because * Beat * you love it, George. Staff of Authority : General Patton is portrayed frequently carrying a riding crop, indicating both his status as an officer with something of a flair for the dramatic, and his background in the cavalry. Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure During the attack on Patton's headquarters by the Nazi bombers, the machine gunners in the planes' nose turrets strafe the ground, sending the American forces into confusion. During the ambush of Rommel's attacking force, another pair of bombers strafes the location of General Bradley's command post. Warrior Poet : Patton, arguably the Trope Codifier .

Weapons Understudies : Besides the above example of tanks, the Afrika Korps' Heinkel He-111s are played by Spanish-built CASA 2.111s. Weather Saves the Day : Weather continues to delay and threaten the advancement of the Allied forces commanded under General Patton. Patton, a religious man, asks his Chaplain to write a prayer to God for His assistance lifting the terrible weather. The next morning, the skies are pure clear blue, and Patton asks that the Chaplain be summoned to him to be decorated with a medal. "Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee of Thy great goodness to restrain this immoderate weather with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for battle. Graciously harken to us, as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen." What the Hell, Hero?

: Patton suffers this after he slaps a soldier in the medical tent suffering from shell shock, in sharp contrast to him giving Purple Heart medals and even praying for one who was seriously wounded. He is forced to write an apology to his entire army as a result of it. In reality, he was only ordered to apologize to the soldiers he slapped (there was actually two). Patton went ahead and turned his PR blunder into an opportunity by making a formal apology not just to them, but to the other wounded men and the entire medical battalion. Worst News Judgment Ever : During a speech to a crowd of British women, Patton says that the Americans and British will rule the world, and makes no mention of the Soviets. The newsreel headline goes "PATTON INSULTS RUSSIAN ALLIES". Worthy Opponent Rommel, of course. Patton also mentions he would give the German pilots who strafed his command center far behind the lines medals if he could. The German pilots had unwittingly proved Patton's point more eloquently than the man could himself. As his artillery pummels the German forces "What a hell of a waste of fine infantry." Wrote the Book : Played with.

General Patton knows that Rommel literally wrote a book on infantry tactics ("Infantry Attacks"), so he reads it and uses that knowledge to predict what Rommel will do at their first big showdown. Patton: Rommel, you Magnificent Bastard , I read your book! Rommel did plan a book on tank tactics, but it was never completed; much of the material which was intended to go into it is available in The Rommel Papers. Patton himself was actually more of a pioneer of tank tactics than Rommel was, as Rommel's contributions had actually been very marginal compared to those of Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma, Hans von Seeckt, Oswalt Lutz, and Heinz Guderiannote the lattermost of whom greatly inflated the inter-war importance of himself and his later friend, Sir Basil Liddel Hart. In return Sir Basil (supporter of the renowned military theorist General JFC Fuller in the interwar period and author of The Rommel Papers) vouched for Guderian's character at his War Crime trial and promoted Guderian's memoirs, to the point of writing the foreword for it .

You Will Know What to Do : When you put your hand into a bunch of goo that a moment before was your best friend's face. :: Indexes :: Part 1: Patton (1/3) | CosmoLearning History Watch Part Number: 1 | 2 | 3 | Documentary Description PATTON (1970) Patton (UK: Patton: Lust for Glory) is a 1970 biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, who based their screenplay on the biography Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and Omar N. Bradley's memoir A Soldier's Story. The film was shot in 65mm Dimension 150 by cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp, and has a music score by Jerry Goldsmith. Patton won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The opening monologue, delivered by Scott with an enormous American flag behind him, remains an iconic and often quoted image in film.

The film remains a success and an American classic.[2] In 2003, Patton was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot The film documents the story of General George S. Patton (George C. Scott) during World War II, beginning with his taking charge of demoralized American forces in North Africa after the Battle of the Kasserine Pass, leading them to victory at the Battle of El Guettar. He then participates in the invasion of Sicily and races against the equally egotistical British General Bernard Law Montgomery to capture the Sicilian port of Messina. Patton is shown as believing in reincarnation, while remaining a devout Christian. At one point in the movie, during the North Africa campaign, Patton takes his staff on an unexpected detour to the site of the ancient Battle of Zama. There he reminisces about the battle, insisting to Omar Bradley that he was there. After he beats Montgomery into Messina, Patton is relieved of command for slapping a shell-shocked soldier in an Army hospital.

This incident, along with his tendency to speak his mind to the press, gets the general in trouble and he is sidelined during the invasion of Europe, being placed in command of the fictional First United States Army Group in south-east England. Later, he begs his former subordinate, General Omar Bradley (Karl Malden), for a command before the war ends. He is given the Third United States Army and distinguishes himself by rapidly sweeping across France and later relieving the vital town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Later, Patton smashes through the German "West Wall" and drives into Germany itself. Just prior to victory in Europe, Patton remarks to a British crowd that America and Great Britain would dominate the post-war world, which the press finds insulting to the Russians. After the Germans capitulate, he insults a Russian officer at a celebration; fortunately, the Russian insults Patton right back, leading to mutual respect and defusing the situation. Later, Patton casually compares the defeated Nazis to American Republicans and Democrats, costing him his command. Production Patton family objections There were several attempts to make the movie, starting in 1953. The Patton family was approached by the producers for help in making the film.

They wanted access to Patton's diaries and input from family members. By coincidence, the day they asked the family was the day after the funeral of Beatrice Ayer Patton, the general's widow. After that, the family was dead set against the movie and refused to give any help to the filmmakers. Because of this, Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North wrote the film from two biographies: Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and A Soldier's Story by Omar Bradley. In 2005, Patton's wife's "Button Box" manuscript was finally released by his family, with the posthumous release of Ruth Ellen Patton Totten's book, The Button Box: A Daughter's Loving Memoir of Mrs. George S. Patton.[4] The opening Patton opens with Scott's rendering of Patton's famous military "Pep Talk" to members of the Third Army, set against a huge American flag. Coppola and North had to tone down Patton's actual words and statements in this scene, as well as throughout the film, to secure a PG rating; in the opening monologue, the word "fornicating" replaced "fucking" when criticizing the Saturday Evening Post newspaper.

Also, Scott's gravelly voice is practically the opposite of Patton's, which was high-pitched and somewhat nasal. When Scott learned that the speech would open the film, he refused to do it, as he believed that it would overshadow the rest of his performance. Director Franklin J. Schaffner lied and assured him that it would be shown at the end. It was shot in a basement room. All the medals and decorations shown on Patton's uniform in the monologue are authentic replicas of those actually awarded to Patton. However, the general never wore all of them in public. He wore them all on only one occasion, in his backyard in Virginia at the request of his wife, who wanted a picture of him with all his medals. The producers used a copy of this photo to help recreate this "look" for the opening scene. However, the ivory-handled revolvers Scott wears in this scene are in fact Patton's, borrowed from the Patton museum. The iconic opening scene has been parodied in numerous films, political cartoons and television shows. In South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Sheila Broflovski gives a speech to US troops at a USO show, urging war with Canada in front of an American flag.

In Small Soldiers, action figure Major Chip Hazard stands in front of a jigsaw puzzle of the American flag and recites phrases from Patton's speech along with other military phrases in a nonsensical way. In Jackass 2.5, Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the Jackass, dressed in military attire, giving the introduction to the movie in front of a giant American flag; in the outro, Johnny gives an inspirational speech about the events of the film in the same manner (before a party breaks out). Harvey Korman, playing Patton, parodies the speech in an episode of The Carol Burnett Show. In the original "unhappy" ending of the 1986 musical Little Shop of Horrors, chorus girls Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon foretell America's doom while posed before a glittering version of Patton's flag backdrop; this backdrop was also used in the 1985 film Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird. Locations Virtually the entire film was shot in Spain. One scene, which depicts Patton driving up to an ancient city that is implied to be Carthage, was shot in the ancient Roman city of Volubilis, located in Morocco.

The early scene, wherein Patton and Muhammed V are reviewing Moroccan troops including the Goumiers, was shot at the Royal Palace in Rabat. One unannounced battle scene was shot the night before, which raised fears in the Royal Palace neighborhood of a coup d'état. One paratrooper was electrocuted in power lines, but none of this battle footage appears in the film. Also a scene at the dedication of the welcome center in Knutsford, England was filmed at the actual site. The scenes set in Africa and Sicily were shot in the south of Spain, while the winter scenes in Belgium were shot near Madrid (to which the production crew rushed when they were informed that snow had fallen). It has been noted that in the scene where Patton arrives to establish his North African command, a supposedly "Arab" woman is selling "pollos y gallinas" (chickens and hens) in Spanish. Though this is a mistake, although at the time in Morocco and some parts of western Algeria most peasants and peddlers had some command of Spanish in those years, as they do now, Patton arrives in Tunisia where Spanish is NOT spoken.

Anachronistic props Patton used very few actual World War II vintage tanks, except in archival newsreel footage. The film's tanks were supplied by the Spanish Army, which assisted the production. They included M41 Walker Bulldog, M46 Patton and M47 Patton tanks for the American side, M24 Chaffee tanks for the British, and M48 Patton tanks for the Germans. Of these machines, only the Chaffee had served in World War II, although not for the British. In reality, General Patton commanded a mixture of M-4 Shermans, M-5 Stuarts, and, very late in the war, M-26 Pershings. However, at the time of the filming, the only armed forces still to use the Sherman tanks were the Israeli Defense Forces (in highly modified postwar versions), the Yugoslav People's Army, and several Latin American nations. Spanish CASA 2.111 airplanes were also used in several scenes. These were heavily modified versions of the German Heinkel He 111, which had been used extensively by the Luftwaffe in World War II.

They can be recognized by their engine nacelles, which have a prominent airscoop directly under the propeller, whereas the Heinkel's airscoop was set further back. Additionally, the Cessna Bird Dog can be seen in some scenes, which didn't make its first flight until 4-5 years after World War II ended. In addition, 1950s M38 Jeeps can be seen, and 1960s M35 cargo trucks were used (for both American and German trucks). A map of Europe shown in the background in one scene displays post-war national boundaries. Patton is shown arriving in London at night in a black Packard Custom Eight. The car used is a postwar design introduced on July 25,1947 for the 1948 model year. Inaccuracies Patton never gave "The Speech" as a four star general since he was not elevated to full general rank until April 14, 1945, well after the time he would have given any such pre-combat speech. While serving to illuminate the tension between Patton and Montgomery, there was no competitive race between the two to capture Messina.

Montgomery actually suggested on July 24 that Patton take Messina since he was in a better position to do so. However, Patton suspected that this was a ruse on Montgomery's part, so the "race" continued in his own mind. George Patton is shown in one scene prematurely pinning on insignia as a Lieutenant General, before the rank was confirmed by the United States Senate. Patton's service record indicates that he only referred to himself as a Lieutenant General after signing the official commission from the Department of the Army.[5] The tactically indecisive Battle of El Guettar is portrayed as a complete American victory. However, it was an important boost for American morale. One veteran of the battle said the most important lesson they learned at El Guettar was, "The Nazis weren't ten feet tall." In the movie, Patton had a rather tense meeting with Arthur Coningham. Shortly afterward, Patton's young aide Dick Jenson was killed in the Battle of El Guettar.

In real life, Jenson was killed shortly after El Guettar, and the meeting with Coningham came after that.[6] In one scene, Patton incorrectly cites Frederick the Great as saying, "L'audace, l'audace, toujours l'audace!" ("Audacity, audacity — always audacity!") This actually originated with Georges Danton. The movie gives the impression that Patton and Gen. Omar Bradley were the best of friends. Actually, the two men never particularly cared for each other. Patton's best friend was Eisenhower, who never appears in the film. The movie depicts a meeting of generals at Verdun to deal with the German onslaught in the Ardennes (the Battle of the Bulge). In the movie, General Bedell Smith presides over the conference. In real life, Eisenhower presided over it. (Eisenhower is never seen in the film, but is referred to as a presence behind the other generals.) Msgr. James H. O'Neill protested that he was portrayed too mildly. In one scene, Patton claims to have fought at a battle where the Romans slaughtered the Carthaginians.

The site that the director chose for this scene was an ancient Roman city called Volubilis, located in Morocco. The arch dedicated to Emperor Caligula can be seen, as well as the remnants of an aqueduct. Caligula died in 41 A.D. while the last Roman battle with Carthage, in the Third Punic War, occurred in what is now Tunisia in 146 B.C. During the Battle of the Bulge, according to the film, Patton orders his chaplain to compose a prayer for good weather. When the weather clears up, Patton announces plans to decorate the chaplain. In real life, Patton gave this order at Lorraine about a month before the Battle of the Bulge. The problem was not winter weather, but constant heavy rains. After the chaplain composed the prayer, the weather indeed cleared up, and Patton awarded the chaplain a Bronze Star. Reception Popular online film critic James Berardinelli has called Patton his favorite film of all time.[7] According to Woodward and Bernstein's book The Final Days, it was also Richard Nixon's favorite film. He screened it several times at The White House and during a cruise on the Presidential yacht.

Before the 1972 Nixon visit to China, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai specially watched this film in preparation for his meeting with Nixon. It was also a personal favorite of Ohio State Football Coach Woody Hayes. Awards and honors Scott's performance won him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1971. He famously refused to accept it, citing a dislike of the voting and even the actual concept of acting competition[8]. He was the first actor, though not the last, to do so (Marlon Brando would, two years later, decline his Oscar for The Godfather in 1973.) The film won six additional Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, and Best Art Direction (Urie McCleary, Gil Parrondo, Antonio Mateos, Pierre-Louis Thévenet). It was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Music, Original Score.[9] In 2006, the Writers Guild of America selected the adapted screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund North as the 94th best screenplay of all time.

The screenplay was based upon the biographies A Soldier's Story by General Omar Bradley, and Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago. The "Best Picture" Oscar is on display at the George C. Marshall Museum at the Virginia Military Institute, courtesy of Frank McCarthy. American Film Institute recognition

Question: Who played the part of General Omar Bradley opposite George C Scott in the 1970 film, "Patton"?
Answer: KARL MALDEN